Ferguson V. BP

Case 1:10-cv-00281 Document 1 Filed 06/03/10 Page 1 of 29 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF ALABAMA SOUTHERN DIVISION JAMES and CONSTANCE FERGUSON, on behalf of themselves and all others similarly situated, Plaintiffs CLASS ACTION COMPLAINT vs. JURY DEMAND BP, PLC; BP AMERICA, INC.; BP CORPORATION NORTH AMERICA, INC.; BP CIVIL ACTION NO. CV-10-281 COMPANY NORTH AMERICA, INC.; BP EXPLORATION & PRODUCTION, INC.; BP PRODUCTS NORTH AMERICA, INC.; ANADARKO PETROLEUM CORP.; MOEX OFFSHORE 2007, LLC; TRANSOCEAN LTD.; TRANSOCEAN, INC.; TRANSOCEAN OFFSHORE DEEPWATER DRILLING, INC.; TRANSOCEAN DEEPWATER, INC.; HALLIBURTON ENERGY SERVICES, INC.; CAMERON INTERNATIONAL CORPORATION f/k/a COOPER CAMERON CORPORATION; and M-I, LLC, Defendants. Plaintiffs James and Constance Ferguson, individually and as representatives of the class defined herein, bring this action against Defendants BP, PLC; BP America, Inc.; BP Corporation North America, Inc.; BP Company North America, Inc.; BP Exploration & Production, Inc.; BP Products North America, Inc.; Anadarko Petroleum Corp.; Moex Offshore 2007, LLC; Transocean Ltd.; Transocean, Inc.; Transocean Offshore Deepwater Drilling, Inc.; Transocean Deepwater, Inc.; Halliburton Energy Services, Inc.; Cameron International Corporation f/k/a Cooper Cameron Corporation; and M-I, LLC, as follows: {00406819.DOC-1} - 1 - Case 1:10-cv-00281 Document 1 Filed 06/03/10 Page 2 of 29 I. INTRODUCTION 1. Plaintiffs are owners of property on the Gulf of Mexico on the southern shore of the State of Alabama. They bring this class action on behalf of themselves and all others similarly situated against Defendants for losses and damages arising out of the catastrophic and avoidable oil spill off the Gulf Coast caused by the April 20, 2010 explosion and fire aboard the Deepwater Horizon oil rig (“Deepwater Horizon”), and the subsequent sinking of that rig and the discharge of oil into the surrounding water. 2. On April 20, 2010, the Deepwater Horizon, an oil rig in the Gulf of Mexico, exploded and caught fire. It burned for two days before tipping into the sea, on its way bending and breaking the long riser pipe carrying oil to the surface from the seafloor. As the Deepwater Horizon sank, it broke off the riser, leaving the pipe leaking oil out of its now-open end as well as through two breaks along its length. An emergency valve, installed on the wellhead for just such a disaster, failed to seal the wellhead as it should have, leaving the well spewing oil into the Gulf waters. 3. Tens of thousands of barrels per day of crude oil have been leaking from the wellhead and broken riser, bubbling up to the surface and flattening out into a widening slick of oil, as well as spreading out in vast subsurface plumes. The growing, fast-moving, rainbow- colored smear is large enough to be visible from outer space, covering tens of thousands of square miles, and spreading with the wind and currents towards the Alabama, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Florida coastlines. 4. The spilled oil has already caused damage to the beachfront and coastal areas of Alabama and the Gulf of Mexico, where Plaintiffs’ and the Class Members’ property is located. With the wellhead unabated gushing of hundreds of thousands of gallons of oil per day into the {00406819.DOC-1} - 2 - Case 1:10-cv-00281 Document 1 Filed 06/03/10 Page 3 of 29 waters near Alabama, Plaintiffs and Class Members are suffering and will continue to suffer serious losses. II. PARTIES 5. James and Constance Ferguson are Illinois residents who own two condominiums on the Gulf of Mexico in Gulf Shores, Alabama. 6. As a result of the events described herein, Plaintiffs have suffered ascertainable losses and damages. 7. Defendant BP, PLC is a British corporation, organized under the laws of the United Kingdom, doing business in the State of Alabama and throughout the United States. BP is one of the world’s largest oil companies. 8. Defendant BP America, Inc. is a Delaware corporation with its principal place of business in Warrenville, Illinois, but doing business in the State of Alabama and throughout the United States. BP America, Inc. is a subsidiary of BP, PLC. 9. Defendant BP Corporation North America, Inc. (formerly BP Amoco Corporation), is an Indiana corporation with its principal place of business in Houston, Texas, but doing business in the State of Alabama and throughout the United States. BP Corporation North America, Inc. is a subsidiary of BP America, Inc. 10. Defendant BP Company North America, Inc. is a Delaware Corporation with its principal place of business in Warrenville, Illinois, but doing business in the State of Alabama and throughout the United States. BP Company North America, Inc. is a subsidiary of BP Corporation North America, Inc. 11. Defendant BP Products North America, Inc. is a Maryland corporation, with its principal place of business in Houston, Texas, but doing business in the State of Alabama and {00406819.DOC-1} - 3 - Case 1:10-cv-00281 Document 1 Filed 06/03/10 Page 4 of 29 throughout the United States. BP Products North America, Inc. is a subsidiary of BP Company North America, Inc. 12. Defendant BP Exploration & Production, Inc. is a Delaware corporation with its principal place of business in Warrenville, Illinois and executive address in Houston, Texas, but doing business in the State of Alabama and throughout the United States. BP Exploration & Production, Inc. was the lease operator of the Deepwater Horizon at the time of the explosion. 13. Defendants BP America, Inc., BP Corporation North America, Inc., BP Company North America, Inc., BP Products North America, Inc., and BP Exploration & Production, Inc. are wholly owned subsidiaries of the global parent corporation, BP, PLC, and they shall be referred to herein collectively as “BP.” 14. BP holds the lease granted by the U.S. Minerals Management Service (“MMS”) that allows BP to drill for oil and perform oil-production-related operations at the Macondo site in the Mississippi Canyon Block 252 section of the outer continental shelf in the Gulf of Mexico. As of April 20, 2010, BP operated the Macondo oil well that is the source of the current oil spill. 15. Defendant Anadarko Petroleum Corp. (“Anadarko”) is a Delaware corporation with its principal place of business in The Woodlands, Texas, but doing business in the State of Alabama and throughout the United States. Anadarko is an oil and gas exploration and production company that owns a 25% interest in the Macondo well at Mississippi Canyon Block 252. 16. Defendant MOEX Offshore 2007, LLC (“MOEX”) is incorporated in Delaware and has its principal place of business in Houston, Texas. MOEX Offshore 2007 holds a 10% interest in the Macondo well at Mississippi Canyon Block 252. {00406819.DOC-1} - 4 - Case 1:10-cv-00281 Document 1 Filed 06/03/10 Page 5 of 29 17. Defendant Transocean Ltd. is a Swiss corporation doing business in the State of Alabama and throughout the United States. Transocean Ltd. is the world’s largest offshore drilling contractor and leading provider of drilling management services worldwide. 18. Defendant Transocean, Inc. is a Cayman Islands corporation with its principal places of business on Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands, and in Houston, Texas, but doing business in the State of Alabama and throughout the United States. Transocean, Inc. is a wholly- owned subsidiary of Transocean Ltd. 19. Defendant Transocean Deepwater, Inc. is a Delaware corporation with its principal place of business in Houston, Texas, but doing business in the State of Alabama and throughout the United States. Transocean Deepwater, Inc. is a subsidiary of Transocean Ltd. 20. Defendant Transocean Offshore Deepwater Drilling, Inc. is a Delaware corporation with its principal place of business in Houston, Texas, but doing business in the State of Alabama and throughout the United States. Transocean Offshore Deepwater Drilling, Inc. is a subsidiary of Transocean Ltd. Transocean Offshore Deepwater Drilling, Inc. is the world’s largest offshore drilling contractor. 21. Defendants Transocean, Inc., Transocean Deepwater, Inc., and Transocean Offshore Deepwater Drilling, Inc. are wholly owned subsidiaries of the global parent corporation, Transocean Ltd., and they shall be referred to herein collectively as “Transocean.” 22. Transocean owned, and BP was leasing and operating, the Deepwater Horizon as it performed production well completion operations on the Macondo well on the outer continental shelf off the Gulf Coast, at the site from which the oil spill now originates. 23. At all times material hereto, the Deepwater Horizon was owned, manned, possessed, managed, controlled, chartered and/or operated by Transocean and/or BP. {00406819.DOC-1} - 5 - Case 1:10-cv-00281 Document 1 Filed 06/03/10 Page 6 of 29 24. Defendant Halliburton Energy Services, Inc. (“Halliburton”) is a Delaware corporation with two headquarters, one in Houston, Texas and one in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, but doing business in the State of Alabama and throughout the United States. Halliburton is one of the world’s largest providers of products and services to the energy industry. Aboard the Deepwater Horizon, Halliburton was engaged in the cementing operations of the well and well cap. 25. Defendant Cameron International Corporation f/k/a Cooper Cameron Corporation (“Cameron”) is a Delaware Corporation with its principal place of business in Houston, Texas, but doing business in the State of Alabama and throughout the United States. Cameron is a global provider of pressure control, processing, flow control and compression systems as well as project management and aftermarket services for the oil and gas and process industries. Cameron manufactured and/or supplied the Deepwater Horizon’s blowout preventer valve (“BOP”) that failed to activate at the time of the explosion. 26.

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